What Pandemic? Hyundai Reports U.S. Sales Gain in July

If you’re like this writer, you pine for the long-ago days when walking into a bar only carried the risk of embarrassing inebriation and possibly violent confrontation, not a viral infection that could leave any of us on gasping on life support. We all wish things were normal.

While the coronavirus hasn’t cleared out, you wouldn’t know that looking at Hyundai’s U.S. sales tally for July. The automaker raised eyebrows and bucked the industry trend by posting a year-over year gain last month.

A bright spot in the automotive landscape following months of fiscal and human carnage, Hyundai’s July sales sheet reveals a 1-percent YoY gain, with retail sales up 4 percent. And, much like last year, the brand’s buoyancy was the result of new crossovers, not cars.

For the month, year-over-year fleet sales fell 32 percent, for obvious reasons. Crossovers now make up 67 percent of Hyundai’s sales volume, and the number of those sold was up 16 percent over the same month last year. Thank the popular Palisade and new Venue small CUV for the additional volume. The range-topping Palisade (which, helpfully, was just coming online last July) was the third-best selling Hyundai last month, narrowly beat by the Santa Fe and Tucson.

The subcompact Kona saw its sales climb 11 percent, year over year. Santa Fe volume was only behind July 2019’s tally by about 350 units, while the little Venue added 1,620 units to the ledger. Interestingly, the new-for-2020 Sonata was only 142 units behind last year’s figure, which practically amounts to breaking even. Hard to do for any sedan.

“Achieving an overall sales increase despite the ongoing pandemic is a tremendous accomplishment and speaks to the depth and quality of our product lineup and resiliency of our dealers,” said Randy Parker, Hyundai Motor America’s vice president of national sales, adding that inventory levels are stable.

[Image: Hyundai]